Michael Carrick is clear about his immediate priorities with Bruno Fernandes as the midfielder approaches the final year of his Manchester United contract. The manager expects continuity and has signalled the club’s desire to keep a player who has become central to the dressing room.

Carrick was blunt when asked whether Fernandes would still be at the club for the start of the 2026–27 season. “I’ve got no reason to think otherwise.

“We’ve loved what he’s done, and he loves being here. I think you can see that. He’s such an influence for us. He’s been the captain and led by example in different ways. He wants to stay on every single game because he’s enjoying his football, which is fantastic.”

Fernandes will turn 32 in September and has voiced his awareness of how age is viewed in English football. “In England,” he fretted earlier this season, “when a player starts to approach 30, they start to think they need to remodel. It’s like the furniture.” That reality shapes the negotiating backdrop ahead of planned talks.

Talks over a new deal are expected to occur over the coming weeks, BBC Sport report. Manchester United are thought to have the option of unilaterally extending Fernandes’s existing contract for an extra year but, heading towards the World Cup, United’s best player is set to be a free agent by the end of next season.

With the exit of Casemiro, Fernandes stands alone as the club’s top earner. His salary was inflated to somewhere in the region of $470,000 per week following the club’s return to Champions League competition. That places him among the Premier League’s best paid players, and any further increase would represent a major financial commitment.

The relevant question for United is not whether Fernandes merits an extension; that is evident. The issue is whether the club can be confident “Will Fernandes be worth the millions he earns by the end of whatever new deal he is offered?” The article notes similar dilemmas elsewhere, where big short-term deals have carried long-term risk.

Forbes’ annual earnings survey for the period May 1, 2025 to May 1, 2026 places seven footballers among the world’s 50 highest-paid athletes. Soccer accounts for seven entries on that list, two fewer than the number of NFL players featured and far fewer than basketball, which has 19.

At the top of the sport, Cristiano Ronaldo leads all athletes with $300 million in total earnings. Around $235 million of that came from his contract with Al Nassr, with $65 million from endorsements, including deals with Binance, Herbalife, Lego, Nike, Therabody and Whoop. Forbes’ breakdown equates his Al Nassr income to roughly $5.77 million per week, $822,000 per day, $34,000 per hour, $566 per minute and about $9 to $10 per second.

Lionel Messi is second among footballers and third among all athletes with $140 million. His income is split roughly evenly between Inter Miami and off-field earnings. His endorsement portfolio includes adidas, PepsiCo, Anheuser-Busch InBev, Apple, Beats by Dre, Epic Games, Hard Rock Cafe, Lowe’s, Mastercard and Panini. He also owns a clothing line, a beverage brand and a hotel chain.

Karim Benzema is a surprise top earner at $104 million, with about $100 million from Al Hilal and the rest from endorsements, primarily through adidas.

Kylian Mbappé earned $95 million, with around $70 million from Real Madrid and $25 million from endorsements including Dior, Electronic Arts, Hublot, Nike, Oakley and Sorare.

Erling Haaland is the highest-paid player in the Premier League with $80 million, of which approximately $60 million came from Manchester City and $20 million from brand deals such as Beats by Dre, Breitling, Dolce & Gabbana, Electronic Arts, Marriott International, Midea, Nike, Supercell, Unilever and Visa.

Vinícius Júnior earned $60 million, mainly from a Real Madrid contract worth about $40 million and $20 million in sponsorships. Mohamed Salah rounds out the seven with $55 million; roughly $35 million came from wages and bonuses at Liverpool and $20 million from endorsements including adidas, Pepsi and Vodafone.

These figures underline football’s commercial reach across contracts and sponsorships during the 2025–26 evaluation window.

Manchester United’s qualification for next season’s Champions League will have a material impact on player pay, according to a report in The Guardian.

The club’s return to Europe’s top competition activates individual Champions League incentivized clauses in many player contracts rather than a single club-wide bonus. The Guardian report that the bulk of the first-team squad will secure a 25% pay rise, although some players will receive smaller increases and others will miss out entirely.

Only three members of the squad are named in relation to pay uplifts. Skipper Bruno Fernandes is listed among those to be rewarded fully. Kobbie Mainoo and Harry Maguire, who both recently signed contract extensions at Old Trafford, will also benefit financially from the club’s Champions League return.

Casemiro remains the club’s best paid player, earning approximately $470,000 per week in Manchester, but he is set to leave United at the end of the current campaign. The report states that Bruno Fernandes will succeed Casemiro as the club’s top earner, taking home around $340,000 per week once his pay increase is confirmed. That rise is reported to place the Portuguese midfielder as the Premier League’s seventh best-paid player in 2026–27 as things stand, when Casemiro, Mohamed Salah and Bernardo Silva all leave their clubs.

Mainoo’s new contract is thought to be worth around $163,000 per week, which still leaves him on less than all three of United’s forward signings from last summer.

The removal of Casemiro’s substantial salary will reduce United’s wage bill ahead of the summer transfer window, even if replacing his influence on the pitch will be challenging. The report also notes that a figure in the region of $100,000 per week will be removed when Tyrell Malacia departs on a free transfer this summer, and that further exits of high earners are expected.